GE In Talks To Buy Alstom

GE Is Reported To Be In Talks To Buy Alstom For US$13 billion.

Bloomberg News Agency reports that General Electric is in talks to buy Alstom for about $13bn (£7.75bn), with a possible deal going through as early as next week.

Any deal would be GE’s biggest ever acquisition.

According to the Bloomberg report, GE has support for the deal from Alstom shareholder Bouygues, which owns around 29% of Alstom.

Reports said Alstom has been hit hard by a drop in orders for power equipment from utilities, which are suffering in turn from weak electricity prices.

France’s Le Figaro newspaper reported that GE is interested in Alstom’s energy assets, which account for about 73% of Alstom’s revenue. According to that report, the Alstom unit that builds its highspeed TGV trains is already in spin off talks and likely would not be part of a GE acquisition.

Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide will provide in-depth coverage as this story develops.